Landmark Court Cases
The big civil cases didn't just pay out — they changed the rules. The matters that reshaped the law, the regulators, or an industry, with the record behind each one.
What makes a case landmark isn't the size of the check. It's what happened afterward: a new rule of liability, a regulator that started paying attention, a settlement structure that every later case copies.
The matters below are the ones that did that. Each links to a full record — court, docket, key dates, sources.
The biggest, on the record
Scale, with the source attached. Every figure below is a reported amount from the public record cited in the case file — not a promise of any kind:
| Matter | Years | Reported figure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roundup / glyphosate (Bayer–Monsanto) | 2018– | Over $11 billion total; $7.25 billion settlement for current and future claims | public reports; court, Mar 2026 |
| Talcum powder (J&J) | 2016– | $12.5 billion global resolution (2025); up to $5.5 billion further agreement (July 2026) | public reports |
| 3M public-water PFAS settlement | 2009–2024 | Up to $10.3 billion pre-tax over 13 years to public water systems (~$12.5 billion with Minnesota) | 3M press release; final approval Mar 29, 2024 |
| Actos bladder cancer (MDL 2299) | 2011–2015 | $2.4 billion global settlement for ~8,000 claims | public reports, Apr 28, 2015 |
| Xarelto bleeding (MDL 2592) | 2013–2020 | $775 million global MDL settlement | public reports, 2020 |
| Zantac / ranitidine NDMA | 2020–2024 | GSK up to $2.2 billion for ~80,000 state claims; Sanofi up to $350 million | public reports, 2024 |
| Takata airbag inflators (MDL 2599) | 2015–2017 | $1 billion criminal penalty including $975 million restitution; civil funds on the record | DOJ, Jan 2017 |
Why these cases matter
Landmark cases set the templates everything else follows. Product liability MDLs trace their modern form to the implant and drug litigations of the 1990s; global settlement structures with trust administrators became standard practice through the tobacco and talc resolutions; and the Camp Lejeune Justice Act created a template for statutory exposure programs. Understanding how a matter ended is often the fastest way to understand where a similar one is going.
We keep finished records public — with the same structure as active matters — because “what happened” is a frequently searched, permanently useful question.
Active matters on the docket
Landmark status is earned in hindsight; right now, the cases that may become landmarks are the ones still litigating. The active matters we track — with live case counts and docket updates: all case records → and the mass tort guide →.
Frequently asked questions
What is a landmark case?
A landmark case is one whose outcome changed more than the fortunes of its own parties — a new rule of liability, a regulatory regime, a settlement structure, or a public shift in how a risk is treated. Some are famous for the legal principle; others for the scale of the resolution and what it did to an industry.
What are the most famous court cases?
“Famous” splits into two families. The constitutional line — Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, Marbury v. Madison — is covered by the courts’ own educational resources. The civil line, which this site tracks, runs through the big product-liability and class-action matters: Roundup, talc, Vioxx, Deepwater Horizon, Takata, the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Each record here links to the public docket and the sources behind the figures.
What is the biggest court case in history?
In civil product liability, the scale leaders are the 1998 tobacco Master Settlement Agreement — $206 billion over 25 years to the states, per the agreement itself — and the modern mass tort resolutions: the Roundup litigation (reported above $11 billion in total), the talc litigation ($12.5 billion global resolution recorded in 2025, per public reports) and the 3M PFAS public-water settlement (up to $10.3 billion pre-tax, per 3M). The table above lists the biggest matters we track, each tied to its record.
Why do these cases matter?
They set the templates. Modern product-liability MDLs trace their form to the implant and drug litigations of the 1990s. Global settlements with trust administrators became standard practice through the tobacco and talc resolutions. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act created a template for statutory exposure programs. Understanding how a matter ended is often the fastest way to see where a similar one is going.
Where do I find the actual court records for these cases?
Each case record on this site links the court, the docket and the filings, and lists the sources behind every figure. For MDLs the docket sits on the transferee court’s public system; JPML’s records show the consolidation. Primary sources — dockets, regulator releases, court opinions — are public by default.